LETTER: We must reconsider voucher program

The proposal under consideration by the House Education Committee will drastically increase the number of students who will opt to go to private and religious schools.

There can be little doubt that former State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Tony Bennett, was invited to hit the road after the last election because he forced the voucher program on our public schools.

Apparently Gov. Pence didn't get the message.

Pence is diligently working to weaken our public schools even more by striving to take the voucher system to a greater extreme, draining more students and more funds from our public schools.

Also, this bill clearly does NOT create a level playing field. Parents of private, religious or home-schooled children can write off much more in tax deductions for education expenses than those parents of children attending public schools, and that will encourage even more parents to send their kids to private or religious schools.

The voucher program is becoming an urgent issue: we must decide if our public schools will excel or wither.